


The one with the late-night snack

by porrayra



Series: t.h.i.a.m. bits [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Awkwardness, Cute Liam Dunbar, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Theo Raeken, Hurt Theo Raeken, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Theo Raeken Has Feelings, Theo Raeken Has Nightmares, Theo Raeken Needs a Hug, Theo Raeken-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:53:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porrayra/pseuds/porrayra
Summary: Theo had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. He decides to get something to eat, but his late-night snack turns into an emotional conversation he definitely didn't ask for.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: t.h.i.a.m. bits [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775599
Comments: 12
Kudos: 113





	The one with the late-night snack

Theo felt the ice-cold metal through his shirt and, before even opening his eyes, he knew what was happening. Fear grew on his chest as he walked out of the morgue, his dead sister right behind, calling his name.

"Theeeeeeo." A shiver went down his spine, but he didn't run. There's no point in trying to escape. He waits, but Tara doesn't move. She stands in the middle of the hospital hallway, chest open, looking at his eyes.

Tears roll down on Theo's face, and he takes a step closer. "Please, take it." He begs desperately. "It's not mine. Take it. Please." Nothing happens.

With a hard thud, Theo hits the floor, crying. "I'm sorry." He uses his own claws to dig into his chest, looking for a heart that is no longer there.

Theo grasps for air, waking up in sweat-damp sheets. He's in his room, at the Geyer's house. Everything is fine, his heart still beats, but he doesn't think he can go back to sleep.

-

Liam wakes up to the smell of hamburger and bacon permeating the house and glances at his phone. "What the fuck." He mumbles sleepish. "Who's cooking at 3 am?" He goes downstairs and stares confused at a very awake Theo Raeken in the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

The boy turns over to face Liam. "Cooking."

"Yeah, I can tell that. But why?"

Theo is just confused right now. After a moment of hesitation, he answers. "To eat, I guess."

"It's 3 in the morning."

"Yes, Liam. I'm aware." Theo sounds annoyed.

"It seems wrong to have a burger for breakfast."

"Well, it's 3 am. It's not breakfast. It's more like a late-night snack." Theo finishes assembling the burger and is about to eat it when he glances over to Liam. "Do you want one?"

The boy shifts on his feet. "It still seems wrong."

"Do you want one or not?"

"Yeah."

Theo sighs, passing the already done burger to Liam over the countertop. "Here, have mine." He turns around to gather the ingredients for another one. As he moves, he can feel Liam's gaze on his back, almost burning holes on his shirt.

After a few minutes, Liam breaks the silence. "So, what are you doing?"

"Oh my God, you just asked me that!" The lack of sleep made Theo irritated, and Liam surely wasn't helping. "I think I should call Scott and let him know that his beta has brain damage."

Liam ignored the comment. "No, I mean, why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep." Theo tried to deflect.

"No shit, Sherlock." Liam rolled his eyes but kept the questions going. "Is it because of what you said the other day? That you are scared to fall sleep?"

"It's not because of what I said. It's because of what I did." He replied simply, thinking about how much he deserved the nightmares.

Silence fell over the kitchen. Slowly, the smell of sadness and grief took over the room and made Liam think about that time he and Stiles followed Theo into the woods and saw him laying flowers to his sister. "You weren't faking."

Without taking his eyes off the bacon cooking, Theo asked. "What are you even talking about now?"

"That day on the bridge, before you betrayed everyone. You weren't faking. You were putting flowers to your sister, and I could smell your grief, just like I do now."

Theo felt violated but didn't let it show. Instead, he replied with a monotonous voice. "So?"

"You're not a monster."

Liam's words hit Theo like a punch. It took him a few seconds to hide his emotions before speaking again. "Smooth, Liam."

"No! That's not-" He stopped, thinking about what to say before rephrasing it. "What I meant is that we always saw you like this total psycho who killed his own sister for power without a drop of remorse, and-"

Theo dropped the pan he was holding. "Ok, I think that's enough. Stop talking."

Liam ignored the plea. "But you regret it, don't you?". He saw Theo clenching his jaw, but he didn't seem mad; somehow, he was even sadder than before.

Theo was tired, destroyed, and just too sad to keep acting. He turned over to face Liam through the tears in his eyes. "Every day, since I was old enough to understand what I did."

Liam nodded in consideration, staring at that glassy green eyes, red veins spotting as the boy tried not to cry. 

After that, they ate in silence, casually glancing at each other between bites. Their hearts were steady, synced, calm as if nothing had happened, but they knew it was just a cover for both of their spiraling minds.

Later that night, Theo went back to bed. Warmth spread on his chest as sleep took over his brain. Liam's voice still resonated in his head. "You're not a monster." This time, the nightmares didn't come.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what I did here, maybe I was just craving a burger and awkward conversations. It's definitely not my favorite update, but let me know what you think! 💕


End file.
